update on Makenna

Hello all. So sorry we did not get to post while we were at Shriners. Things were fairly crazy and didn't take the time. Makenna is out of the hospital. As I write we are at SCott's parents house in Indpls. The doctors said that surgery went as perfectly as possible. When the ent went to put the tubes in, he pulled out a huge ball of wax out of her ear and said it was the biggest hunk of wax out of a child this age he had seen! Maybe that had something to do with her not hearing?!?! After the surgeon came and gave us report on her he said that they'd some get us in about a half hour and get us so we could go back and see her. Within 20 minutes the doctor came out and said "Are you Makenna's parents? Come quick, she is about to kill us all!" Let me tell you about our spicy little girl! They could not calm her down at all and she screamed continually for at least 3 hours! She would settle for a few seconds then rear back and stiffen up to the point of you could not hardly even hold her. They had give her medication to calm her and it had the opposite effect on her. Between the morphine for pain, and the other meds, she was so snowed she didn't know what was going on. It was very difficult to watch and it took quite a long time for her to come around. I stayed in the PICU with her all night and by the time Scott got there around 7 this morning, she was doing much better. She had to lay on my chest all night to sleep and would wake screaming 3 or 4 times an hour so it was a very long night! We forced her to drink some juice and eat some cream of wheat so they would discharge her. She was so glad to get the IV and SPO2 off her foot(check her oxygen saturation) ! She would pull all the cardiac leads off her chest numerous times, she just hated all those wires. Since her IV was in her foot she couldn't get down or leave the room so she was happy to have that stuff all gone and get up and walk. The staff was wonderful at Shriners. I highly recommend them! Scott talked today about how we couldn't decide if we wanted to deal with a cleft lip/palate baby when we were looking at our agency's special needs list and after this week and seeing some of the children and what the parents and kids have to endure, we are so blessed to have a cleft child, something that is so easily fixed.

We serve a great God and he answered many prayers. Upon waking up at 5 AM on Thursday morning, Makenna was signing hungry and to eat. Of course it was surgery day and she was not able to eat or drink anything so I put her in the stroller and we walked for about 3 hours until Scott got there. We went outside to the walking path and I just prayed as we walked that God would take all her hunger pangs away and she never signed to eat again that day! We praise God for answering that prayer. All the prayers that went up for a successful surgery and that was granted. When we sent word that she was having a hard time after surgery and prayers went up, that was also answered. Our prayers about Scott being able to stay at the Ronald McDonald house for 5 dollars a night was also answered! It was so nice to know he was sleeping an a comfortable Select Comfort bed with free food there while I was with Makenna in the hospital!!!! That's OK, he slept Wed. and Thurs night and I will get to sleep tonight!

Thank you so much for following and for all your prayers. We will update pictures after we get home tomorrow.

Side note: After I wrote this, I fixed Makenna some Double Chicken Noodle soup and put it in the blender. She ate at least a half a can of that, a half container of chocolate pudding, and some apple sauce! She has not had pain meds since 11 this morning and it i s now 8:30. I gave her some meds now since we are going to bed, hoping she will sleep. I think her recovery is going to be great. She doesn't even seem to mind the No No's on her arms! She was so happy to get all the wires off of herself I think she is Ok with just the no no's. THey have not slowed her down, she was climbing the chairs, on the kitchen table etc!